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4-5 Bonus Poker
Introduction
Bonus Poker, a variant I discovered at MGM Grand in Las Vegas on April 8, 2006, has a unique twist compared to traditional video poker, as players only receive four cards after the initial deal. This aspect makes it more challenging to build strong starting hands, but the game offers a better payout structure to offset this difficulty.
On that Saturday night, the game attracted so many players that every machine was occupied. I could only manage to jot down one pay table (for Bonus Poker) while awkwardly leaning over a stranger's shoulder.
The table below presents the payout rates, probabilities, and expected returns for each possible hand.
4-5 Bonus Poker
Hand | Payoff | Combinations | Probability | Return |
---|---|---|---|---|
Royal Flush | 800 | 25,268,712 | 0.000011 | 0.008722 |
Straight Flush | 100 | 122,051,604 | 0.000053 | 0.005266 |
Four aces | 200 | 328,366,104 | 0.000142 | 0.028334 |
Four 2-4 | 100 | 680,971,104 | 0.000294 | 0.029380 |
Four 5-K | 80 | 2,182,645,344 | 0.000942 | 0.075335 |
Full House | 12 | 11,953,051,848 | 0.005157 | 0.061884 |
Flush | 10 | 16,998,834,204 | 0.007334 | 0.073340 |
Straight | 6 | 13,028,869,188 | 0.005621 | 0.033727 |
Three of a kind | 4 | 127,022,432,184 | 0.054803 | 0.219210 |
Two pair | 2 | 197,648,978,040 | 0.085274 | 0.170547 |
Pair of aces | 2 | 141,799,463,640 | 0.061178 | 0.122356 |
Pair: J-K | 1 | 343,532,231,028 | 0.148214 | 0.148214 |
Nonpaying hand | 0 | 1,462,494,339,000 | 0.630979 | 0.000000 |
Total | 0 | 2,317,817,502,000 | 1.000000 | 0.976315 |